SIMPCOX O master, that you could!
GLOUCESTER (to the Mayor and aldermen)
My masters of Saint Albans, have you not
Beadles in your town, and things called whips?
MAYOR
We have, my lord, an if it please your grace.
GLOUCESTER Then send for one presently.
MAYOR (to a townsman)
Sirrah, go fetch the beadle hither straight. Exit one
GLOUCESTER
Bring me a stool.
A stool is brought
(To Simpcox) Now, sirrah, if you mean
To save yourself from whipping, leap me o’er
This stool and run away.
SIMPCOX
Alas, master,
I am not able even to stand alone.
You go about to torture me in vain.
Enter a Beadle with whips
GLOUCESTER
Well, sirrah, we must have you find your legs.
(To the Beadle) Whip him till he leap over that same
stool.
BEADLE I will, my lord.
(To Simpcox) Come on, sirrah, off with your doublet quickly.
SIMPCOX Alas, master, what shall I do ? I am not able to stand.
After the Beadle hath hit him once, he leaps over the stool and runs away. ⌈Some of ⌉the townsmen follow and cry, ‘A miracle ! A miracle !’
KING HENRY
O God, seest thou this and bear’st so long?
QUEEN MARGARET
It made me laugh to see the villain run!
GLOUCESTER ⌈to the Beadlel⌉
Follow the knave, and take this drab away.
SIMPCOX’S WIFE
Alas, sir, we did it for pure need.
⌈Exit the Beadle with the Wife⌉
GLOUCESTER ⌈to the Mayor⌉
Let them be whipped through every market-town 160
Till they come to Berwick, from whence they came.
Exeunt the Mayor ⌈and any remaining townsmen⌉
CARDINAL BEAUFORT
Duke Humphrey has done a miracle today.
SUFFOLK
True: made the lame to leap and fly away.
GLOUCESTER
But you have done more miracles than I—
You made, in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly.
Enter the Duke of Buckingham
KING HENRY
What tidings with our cousin Buckingham?
BUCKINGHAM
Such as my heart doth tremble to unfold.
A sort of naughty persons, lewdly bent,
Under the countenance and confederacy
Of Lady Eleanor, the Protector’s wife,
The ringleader and head of all this rout,
Have practised dangerously against your state,
Dealing with witches and with conjurors,
Whom we have apprehended in the fact,
Raising up wicked spirits from under ground,
Demanding of King Henry’s life and death
And other of your highness’ Privy Council.
And here’s the answer the devil did make to them.
Buckingham gives King Henry the writings
⌈KING HENRY⌉ (reads)
‘First of the King: what shall of him become?
The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose,
But him outlive and die a violent death.’
God’s will be done in all. Well, to the rest.
(Reads) ‘Tell me what fate awaits the Duke of Suffolk?
By water shall he die, and take his end.’
SUFFOLK [aside]
By water must the Duke of Suffolk die?
It must be so, or else the devil doth lie.
KING HENRY (reads)
‘What shall betide the Duke of Somerset?
Let him shun castles. Safer shall he be
Upon the sandy plains than where castles mounted
stand.’
CARDINAL BEAUFORT (to Gloucester)
And so, my Lord Protector, by this means
Your lady is forthcoming yet at London.
(Aside to Gloucester)
This news, I think, hath turned your weapon’s edge.
᾽“Tis like, my lord, you will not keep your hour.
GLOUCESTER
Ambitious churchman, leave to afflict my heart.
Sorrow and grief have vanquished all my powers,
And, vanquished as I am, I yield to thee
Or to the meanest groom.
KING HENRY
O God, what mischiefs work the wicked ones,
Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby!
QUEEN MARGARET
Gloucester, see here the tainture of thy nest,
And look thyself be faultless, thou wert best.
GLOUCESTER
Madam, for myself, to heaven I do appeal,
How I have loved my King and common weal;
And for my wife, I know not how it stands.
Sorry I am to hear what I have heard.
Noble she is, but if she have forgot
Honour and virtue and conversed with such
As, like to pitch, defile nobility,
I banish her my bed and company,
And give her as a prey to law and shame
That hath dishonoured Gloucester’s honest name.
KING HENRY
Well, for this night we will repose us here;
Tomorrow toward London back again,
To look into this business thoroughly,
And call these foul offenders to their answers,
And poise the cause in justice’ equal scales,
Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause
prevails. Flourish. Exeunt
2.2 Enter the Duke of York and the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick
YORK
Now, my good lords of Salisbury and Warwick,
Our simple supper ended, give me leave
In this close walk to satisfy myself
In craving your opinion of my title,
Which is infallible, to England’s crown.
SALISBURY
My lord, I long to hear it out at full.
WARWICK
Sweet York, begin, and if thy claim be good,
The Nevilles are thy subjects to command.
YORK Then thus:
Edward the Third, my lords, had seven sons:
The first, Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales;
The second, William of Hatfield; and the third,
Lionel Duke of Clarence; next to whom
Was John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster;
The fifth was Edmund Langley, Duke of York;
The sixth was Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of
Gloucester;
William of Windsor was the seventh and last.
Edward the Black Prince died before his father
And left behind him Richard, his only son,
Who, after Edward the Third’s death, reigned as king
Till Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster,
The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt,
Crowned by the name of Henry the Fourth,
Seized on the realm, deposed the rightful king,
Sent his poor queen to France from whence she came,
And him to Pomfret; where, as well you know,
Harmless Richard was murdered traitorously.
WARWICK (to Salisbury)
Father, the Duke of York hath told the truth;
Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.
YORK
Which now they hold by force and not by right;
For Richard, the first son’s heir, being dead,
The issue of the next son should have reigned.
SALISBURY
But William of Hatfield died without an heir.
YORK
The third son, Duke of Clarence, from whose line
I claim the crown, had issue Phillipe, a daughter,
Who married Ed
mund Mortimer, Earl of March;
Edmund had issue, Roger, Earl of March;
Roger had issue, Edmund, Anne and Eleanor.
SALISBURY
This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke,
As I have read, laid claim unto the crown,
And, but for Owain Glyndwr, had been king,
Who kept him in captivity till he died.
But to the rest.
YORK His eldest sister, Anne,
My mother, being heir unto the crown,
Married Richard, Earl of Cambridge, who was son
To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third’s fifth son.
By her I claim the kingdom: she was heir
To Roger, Earl of March, who was the son
Of Edmund Mortimer, who married Phillipe,
Sole daughter unto Lionel, Duke of Clarence.
So if the issue of the elder son
Succeed before the younger, I am king.
WARWICK
What plain proceedings is more plain than this?
Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt,
The fourth son; York claims it from the third:
Till Lionel’s issue fails, John’s should not reign.
It fails not yet, but flourishes in thee
And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.
Then, father Salisbury, kneel we together,
And in this private plot be we the first
That shall salute our rightful sovereign
With honour of his birthright to the crown.
SALISBURY and WARWICK (kneeling)
Long live our sovereign Richard, England’s king!
YORK
We thank you, lords;
⌈Salisbury and Warwick rise⌉
but I am not your king
Till I be crowned, and that my sword be stained
With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster—
And that’s not suddenly to be performed,
But with advice and silent secrecy.
Do you, as I do, in these dangerous days,
Wink at the Duke of Suffolk’s insolence,
At Beaufort’s pride, at Somerset’s ambition,
At Buckingham, and all the crew of them,
Till they have snared the shepherd of the flock,
That virtuous prince, the good Duke Humphrey.
᾽Tis that they seek, and they, in seeking that,
Shall find their deaths, if York can prophesy.
SALISBURY
My lord, break off—we know your mind at full.
WARWICK
My heart assures me that the Earl of Warwick
Shall one day make the Duke of York a king.
YORK
And Neville, this I do assure myself—
Richard shall live to make the Earl of Warwick
The greatest man in England but the King. Exeunt
2.3 Sound trumpets. Enter King Henry and state, with guard, to banish the Duchess: King Henry and Queen Margaret, Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, the Duke of Suffolk [and the Duke of Buckingham, Cardinal [Beaufort], and, led with officers, Dame Eleanor Cobham the Duchess, Margery Jordan the witch, John Southwell and Sir John Hume the two priests, and Roger Bolingbroke the conjuror; then enter to them] the Duke of York and the Earls of Salisbury rand Warwick⌉
KING HENRY (to the Duchess)
Stand forth, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Gloucester’s wife.
She comes forward
In sight of God and us your guilt is great;
Receive the sentence of the law for sins
Such as by God’s book are adjudged to death.
(To the Witch, Southwell, Hume, and Bolingbroke)
You four, from hence to prison back again;
From thence, unto the place of execution.
The witch in Smithfield shall be burned to ashes,
And you three shall be strangled on the gallows.
⌈Exeunt Witch, Southwell, Hume, and Bolingbroke, guarded⌉
(To the Duchess)
You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
Despoiled of your honour in your life,
Shall, after three days’ open penance done,
Live in your country here in banishment
With Sir John Stanley in the Isle of Man.
DUCHESS
Welcome is banishment; welcome were my death.
GLOUCESTER
Eleanor, the law, thou seest, hath judged thee;
I cannot justify whom the law condemns.
⌈Exit the Duchess, guarded⌉
Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this dishonour in thine age
Will bring thy head with sorrow to the grave.
(To King Henry)
I beseech your majesty, give me leave to go.
Sorrow would solace, and mine age would ease.
KING HENRY
Stay, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester. Ere thou go,
Give up thy staff. Henry will to himself
Protector be; and God shall be my hope,
My stay, my guide, and lantern to my feet.
And go in peace, Humphrey, no less beloved
Than when thou wert Protector to thy King.
QUEEN MARGARET
I see no reason why a king of years
Should be to be protected like a child.
God and King Henry govern England’s helm!
Give up your staff, sir, and the King his realm.
GLOUCESTER
My staff? Here, noble Henry, is my staff.
As willingly do I the same resign
As erst thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willing at thy feet I leave it
As others would ambitiously receive it.
He lays the staff at King Henry’s feet
Farewell, good King. When I am dead and gone,
May honourable peace attend thy throne. Exit
QUEEN MARGARET
Why, now is Henry King and Margaret Queen,
And Humphrey Duke of Gloucester scarce himself,
That bears so shrewd a maim; two pulls at once—
His lady banished and a limb lopped off.
She picks up the staff
This staff of honour raught, there let it stand
Where it best fits to be, in Henry’s hand.
She gives the staff to King Henry
SUFFOLK
Thus droops this lofty pine and hangs his sprays;
Thus Eleanor’s pride dies in her youngest days.
YORK
Lords, let him go. Please it your majesty,
This is the day appointed for the combat,
And ready are the appellant and defendant—
The armourer and his man—to enter the lists,
So please your highness to behold the fight.
QUEEN MARGARET
Ay, good my lord, for purposely therefor
Left I the court to see this quarrel tried.
KING HENRY
A God’s name, see the lists and all things fit;
Here let them end it, and God defend the right.
YORK
I never saw a fellow worse bestead,
Or more afraid to fight, than is the appellant,
The servant of this armourer, my lords.
Enter at one door Horner the armourer and his
Neighbours, drinking to him so much that he is
drunken; and he enters with a drummer before him
and ⌈carrying⌉ his staff with a sandbag fastened to
it. Enter at the other door Peter his man, also with
a drummer and a staff with sandbag, and Prentices
drinking to him
FIRST NEIGHBOUR (offering drink to Horner) Here, neighbour Horner, I drink to you in a cup of sack, and fear not, neighbour, you shall do well enough.
SECOND NEIGHBOUR (offering drink to Horner) And here, neighbour, here’s a cup of charneco.
THIRD NEIGHBOUR (offering dri
nk to Horner) Here’s a pot of good double beer, neighbour, drink and be merry, and fear not your man. HORNER ⌈accepting the offers of drink⌉ Let it come, i’faith I’ll pledge you all, and a fig for Peter.
FIRST PRENTICE (offering drink to Peter) Here, Peter, I drink to thee, and be not afeard.
SECOND PRENTICE (offering drink to Peter) Here, Peter, here’s a pint of claret wine for thee.
THIRD PRENTICE (offering drink to Peter) And here’s a quart for me, and be merry, Peter, and fear not thy master. Fight for credit of the prentices!
PETER ⌈refusing the offers of drink⌉ I thank you all. Drink and pray for me, I pray you, for I think I have taken my last draught in this world. Here, Robin, an if I die, I give thee my apron; and, Will, thou shalt have my hammer; and here, Tom, take all the money that I have. OLord bless me, I pray God, for I am never able to deal with my master, he hath learned so much fence already.
SALISBURY Come, leave your drinking, and fall to blows. (To Peter) Sirrah, what’s thy name?
PETER Peter, forsooth.
SALISBURY Peter? What more?
PETER Thump.
SALISBURY Thump! Then see that thou thump thy master well.
HORNER Masters, I am come hither, as it were, upon my man’s instigation, to prove him a knave and myself an honest man; and touching the Duke of York, I will take my death I never meant him any ill, nor the King, nor the Queen; and therefore, Peter, have at thee with a downright blow.
YORK
Dispatch; this knave’s tongue begins to double.
Sound trumpets an alarum to the combatants. They fight and Peter hits Horner on the head and strikes him down
HORNER Hold, Peter, hold—I confess, I confess treason. He dies
YORK (to an attendant, pointing to Horner) Take away his weapon. (To Peter) Fellow, thank God and the good wine in thy master’s wame.
PETER [kneeling] O God, have I overcome mine enemy in this presence? O, Peter, thou hast prevailed in right.
KING HENRY (to attendants, pointing to Horner)
Go, take hence that traitor from our sight,
For by his death we do perceive his guilt.
And God in justice hath revealed to us
The truth and innocence of this poor fellow,
Which he had thought to have murdered wrongfully.
(To Peter) Come, fellow, follow us for thy reward.
Sound a flourish. Exeunt, some carrying Horner’s body
2.4 Enter Duke Humphrey of Gloucester and his men in mourning cloaks
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works Page 31
